Review: The North Face Vectiv Exploris II Futurelight Boot

I was drawn to the North Face VECTIV Exploris II Futurelight walking boots as they seemed to be the do-it-all when I came to support, stability and comfort, and the Futurelight waterproof membrane has an excellent reputation. I  also really liked their modern ‘covert’ design, giving the appearance of a stylish city shoe, while offering excellent technical performance. When wearing them for the first time, I was certainly impressed with how comfortable they were right out of the box.

I am very happy with the NF VECTIV II boots. They very quickly become my shoe of choice when it came to long days out on my feet and they gave me great peace-of-mind knowing that my feet would remain dry in almost every situation.

Their level of waterproofing is exceptional. Wading through ankle-deep festival-mud and slogging around the Lake District in the pouring rain was all taken in their stride. The Exploris II is a mid-height boot, a design that works well for the modern ‘streetwear’ look and helps with weight reduction. This did mean that it didn’t take much for water to splash up and into the boot, so running the risk of negating the waterproofing. The boot-height is still enough to provide adequate foot and ankle protection while walking on more technical terrain.

The Exploris II’s are exceptionally comfortable when worn for a long time on fairly easy smooth terrain. The Superfoam cushioning sees to this with excellent vibration dispersion as an energy efficient shape to reduce foot fatigue. However, I feel that the downside of such cushioning is an apparent reduction in protection. I found when out hiking in more technical terrain with the presence of sharper pointed rocks, my feet definitely felt more sore than they would have done in a more ‘traditional’ style thick-soled boot.

One of the stand-out elements of the North Face Exploris II boot is their grip and stability. During a photoshoot in the Peak District, I was rushing around on some dry but particularly polished limestone. Despite the sketchy terrain, I felt confident that I wasn’t going to fall [and I didn’t]. They didn’t perform quite as well on wet rocks. I was hiking in the Coniston area of the Lake District and I did slip a couple of times on the wet, slightly slimy slate.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with this pair of boots and I would be very happy to recommend them to anyone looking for a lightweight and comfortable boot they need to wear all day and often in the rain.